Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Utility Work Ahead

Utility Work Ahead. That is the sign that's been a beacon amidst the dust and roadwork outside my door for the last couple of days. Sweaty workers wearing safety orange vests and hardhats, driving heavy machinery and making noise. A great deal of noise. In fact, they were setting up at seven a.m. and are still working now, at 5:30 p.m. These men (they are all men, as far as I can tell) know they have to finish the job in a timely fashion and, accepting that, just keep working. When it comes to the basics: water, gas, electricity, people won't tolerate outages for long and the utility companies know this.

We should all think this way, whether it is laundry or homework, customer service or learning lines from Shakespeare. If we've chosen this job, whatever it is, we're obligated to get it done the best way we know how and on time. It's better still if we can enjoy the process. Even if the job is to find a new job. Utility work ahead.

...getting down to business. In reality what has made America great is a rare combination of self reliance, hard work, a willingess to take risks, the ability to enjoy the fruits of that risk, and (at least in the past) a government that is somewhat friendly to business enterprise in general. America will remain strong and job will come back if we get back to business of creating things, creating concepts, and then in making them. We have been foolish to out source so many things that we used to make. A thriving economy cannot survive, let alone grow simply as a service economy. We need to make things. That is why we are dedicated to making sure that Intercept remains a proudly made in America technology.